Ismail Al Gergawi, the president of the UAE Basketball Association, looked thoughtful as he watched Bahrain play Egypt in a tournament at Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai on Wednesday.
The facilities are immaculate, as is the court.
The views are superb.
It is just two days until the start of the Fiba Under 17 World Championship, yet Al Gergawi is not entirely happy despite Dubai winning the right to host such a high-profile event.
“We were up against several European countries, but thankfully we were successful in winning the bid,” he said. “The goal of holding this competition is to show the world that the Emirates and its people can organise the biggest of tournaments and, at the same time, we want to show a side of the country we can be proud of – that we have the best facilities to hold these events.
“Finally, we want these kids to gain experience by going up against teams that are ahead of us in this field.”
The UAE will take on major basketball powers and Al Gergawi is under no illusions what the home team can accomplish.
“We know were we stand,” he said. “We cannot compete with nations that are years ahead of us in terms of experience and have far bigger populations.
“But we will try through this event to improve the standards of our boys for the future, perhaps at the Gulf or Asian level.”
Several of the UAE's U17 team were watching the Bahrain-Egypt game and, seeing them, it is immediately obvious where the squad's biggest problem lies.
“Basketball relies heavily on physicality, which we lack,” Al Gergawi said. “The skills require a certain type of player. I’d say that out of every 100,000 people you can get only a handful fit to play at a high level.”
The UAE team that plays Italy tomorrow at Al Ahli club at 6.45pm, just after the opening ceremonies, look remarkably slight in build and height.
“You have to start with small steps, and we are starting with this competition,” Al Gergawi said. “I’m grateful for all the companies and organisations that have sponsored this event, and especially to individuals.”
Included in the sponsors are Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Matar Al Tayer, deputy chairman of the Dubai Sports Council.
Beyond this 16-nation, nine-day event, Al Gergawi is dismayed with the state of UAE basketball and the support it gets.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not happy,” he said. “I’ve been involved in UAE sport for 40 years and in basketball almost 30, and I must say we are regressing in almost all sports except football, which massive amounts are being spent on.”
He does not hide his frustration that other sports get nowhere near the same funding or attention as football.
“With other sports, any win is a temporary one because there is no long-term planning, sadly,” the chairman said. “The clubs have been forced to make football a priority, so they’d rather win a title in that than have other sports that young people can take part in. Everything is geared towards football.”
Despite Al Gergawi’s best efforts to change that situation, he said that little has changed in recent decades.
“We have tried but unfortunately not many clubs are listening or engaging with us,” Al Gergawi said.
Other nations “spend a lot of money” on basketball and “attract people from overseas, and even nationalise players”, he explained.
Interest in basketball in the UAE is minimal. Few Emiratis play the sport and barely half the clubs who play football in the Arabian Gulf League have basketball teams.
Al Gergawi said basketball’s budget from the Ministry of Youth and Sports has not changed in 30 years.
“The world has changed, everything has changed, but our budget remains the same,” he said. “It’s not right that some team sports get nothing and footballers get millions. How can you develop the sport, and as Emiratis in the Gulf and Arab regions, have a good name?”
He remains proud of what the UAE federation has achieved with limited resources.
“Because of the love we have for our country and our youth, we will continue to do our best,” he said.
“But the solution in progressing in these sports is in the hands of the authorities.
“Countries spend millions to bid for tournaments like this, but when we requested funding for this we were met with puzzlement on why we had bid in the first place, as there was no money.
“We had to work harder and battle against the reality of the situation.”
The UAE are falling behind even regional rivals, he said.
“It’s not right that countries with less resources are beating us in these fields. We guard our nation’s name jealously and we say loudly that we must give other sports more importance,” Al Gergawi said. “As we spend on football, so we must on other sports.”
The UAE Football Association spared no expense in preparing the nation’s youngsters for last November’s Fifa U17 World Cup.
Their basketball counterparts are doing their best to keep up. “These kids are very young and their physical builds are modest,” Al Gergawi said.
“We don’t have the physical aspects that could [affect this event], but as soon as we won the bid to hold the competition, we’ve been sending them on training camps.”
The improvement has been significant but not enough to make a big difference at this tournament.
“The difference between what they were like when we got them and where they are now is huge,” he said.
“We have worked on improving their technique, but you see a Spanish player 2.10-metres tall, and we don’t even have one player as big as 1.90. It’s like going up against a wall.”
The UAE association has spent Dh2.5 million to put on this event, Al Gergawi said, with little help from the nation’s sports clubs.
“We are loyal to the country and we love the sport, and we love these boys, but I’d like to say to the managements of our sports clubs: ‘Please take care of this sport. You must work harder’,” he said. “They say necessity is the mother of invention. If you are too comfortable, you will not excel. If you put your feet up, eat and drink, and have sheesha, there will be no excellence.
“Excellence only comes from hunger. If your stomach is full and everything is available to you, you won’t take the initiative to train every afternoon, unless we come up with long-term plans.”
Al Gergawi is not about to give up the fight, not with the U17 World Championships starting tomorrow. Yet he remains pessimistic about future prospects.
“I speak from experience and from suffering,” he said. “If the situation continues like this, we will continue to regress. Sadly no one is listening or willing to fix the problem.”
akhaled@thenational.ae
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